By Livio Caferoglu

The Netherlands international tweeted a photograph of himself in good spirits after he went under the knife to correct a serious leg injury, sustained while playing for his club

AC Milan midfielder Nigel de Jong has spoken of his optimism following a successful operation on his ruptured Achilles tendon.

The 28-year-old picked up the season-ending injury in last weekend's 4-2 Serie A victory over Torino after he fell awkwardly to the ground and had to be stretchered off in the opening stages of the match.

However, his recovery appears to be on the right track as the Dutchman posted a picture of himself on Twitter following the surgery and expressed his gratitude for all the support he has been shown.

"OP was successful, now looking forward to full recovery," read the tweet. "Thanks 2 my teammates, colleagues and fans for their support."

De Jong joined Milan in the summer from Manchester City for a reported initial fee of €4.5 million and has since played 15 times for the club, scoring once.